Tomato Dirt NewsletterVolume 2, Number 8

Welcome back to Tomato Dirt! Once or twice a month, we’ll send you this newsletter packed with tips about growing tomatoes and using them.

It’s Good to be a Drip - When Watering Tomatoes

Tomatoes are fast-growing, heavy-producing plants. They make a lot of food (sugars) in order to grow blossoms, develop fruit, and put out more branches. It takes a considerable amount of water to convert sunlight into energy for a tomato’s many branches and blossoms.

Deep watering forces roots to burrow lower into the soil to get water. That helps your plant build a strong root system, which in turn allows it to withstand the stresses of hot or dry weather.

In contrast, light surface watering guides the roots towards the soil, where they’re more easily damaged and susceptible to drought and exposure. Of the 3 most common forms of watering tomatoes – hand-watering, sprinkler watering, and drip watering – tomato gardeners have most success with drip watering to ensure moisture penetrates deeply into the soil.

Drip hoses
(or soaker hoses) are the easiest and least expensive form of drip irrigation. They are made of recycled tires and have tiny pores along their entire length. Gardeners connect the drip hose to a water source and lay them along a row of tomatoes or wind them in between plants. Water leaks slowly from the hose at a rate of about ½ gallon a minute per 100 feet of hose. Learn more about drip hoses for tomatoes – and get them here.